Monday Morning eBriefing

Here is a summary of the latest legislative and regulatory transport, logistics and trade sector updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Transportation Counsel firm Venable:

The benefits enrollment process can be complicated each year – both for your business and your employees. Choosing the right benefits plans can be confusing, and there can be a lot of paperwork required. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to streamline the benefits enrollment process and make it more likely for employees to participate. By increasing overall employee participation, you are more likely to reap the benefits – from decreasing per-person costs to attracting and retaining high-quality employees.

The ports of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach announced the postponement of their “Container Dwell Fee” until Dec. 6. The fee was previously set to take effect on Monday, Nov. 29.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Dec. 2 provided guidance on requests for liquidation extensions and protest processing related to pending litigation in the Court of International Trade (CIT) challenging the lawfulness of the Section 301 List 3 and/or 4A duties on Chinese goods in In Re Section 301 Cases, Court No. 21-00052.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has rolled out a new Facebook page as a complement its social media presence on Twitter and LinkedIn and offer additional opportunities to share information and engage with industry stakeholders.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) requests public comments regarding areas and priorities for U.S. and European Union export control cooperation to help inform the work of the U.S-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Export Control Working Group.

Americans for Free Trade (AFT), a broad coalition of American businesses, trade organizations, and workers united against tariffs which includes NCBFAA, sent a letter on Dec. 1 to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX), as well as House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Trade Chairman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3) and Ranking Member Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16), ahead of the Subcommittee on Trade’s upcoming hearing regarding U.S. competitiveness with China.

The NCBFAA Transportation Committee’s Logistics Subcommittee is regularly collecting data on the nation’s rail delays and port congestion that are impacting the supply chain and your business operations.

The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Center has launched a public awareness campaign to enhance health and safety during the holidays, especially while shopping.

There is still hope that the GSP and the MTB will be extended this year. Stakeholders in Congress and the private sector made several statements over the last week regarding the GSP and MTB programs.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing changes to the requirements for importing horses. The Nov. 29 proposed rule is intended to better align APHIS regulations with international standards and allow more flexibility for both APHIS and the trade. The proposed changes include:

Here is a summary of the latest customs and cross-border trade regulatory updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Customs Counsel firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg:

USDA’s Animal and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a final rule to remove restrictions which prohibit the import of live goats and sheep from countries at risk for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and scrapie. The agency based its decision on internally accepted scientific literature. In addition, APHIS is adding import restrictions for certain wild, zoological, or other non-bovine ruminant species. The changes will take effect on Jan. 3, 2022.

Here is a summary of the latest legislative and regulatory transport, logistics and trade sector updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Transportation Counsel firm Venable:

The ports of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach announced the postponement of their “Container Dwell Fee” until Nov. 29. The fee was previously set to take effect on Monday, Nov. 22.

Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2113 was created on Nov. 23 and contains 2552 ABI records and 619 Harmonized Tariff Records, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said.

Here is a summary of the latest customs and cross-border trade regulatory updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Customs Counsel firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg:

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome the following members who have recently joined our association:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) provided emergency protocols in response to the flood situation in British Columbia, Canada, last week.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reached out to pecan importers to provide greater detail on the fees to be assessed on imported pecans to fund the Pecan Promotion, Research and Information Order. The fee took effect on Oct. 1.